Roberto Clemente Research Paper

1511 Words7 Pages
Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico on August 18, 1934. He was the youngest of 7 children. He went to Julio C Vizarrondo High School. Roberto helped contribute to his family by helping his father load shoves into construction trucks. He used the money he made to buy a bike and rubber balls. He used the balls to strengthen his hands by squeezing them. People noticed he had strong hands and an athletic ability at an early age. One of his favorite players growing up was Monte Irvin who played for the Negro National League and the Puerto Rican League. Clemente practiced so he could throw like his hero Monte Irvin. At age 14, Roberto Clemente joined a softball team organized by Roberto Marin. Marin began using Clemente as short stop because of his strong throwing arm. Eventually he was moved to outfield. In high school, Roberto did the high jump and threw the javelin. The javelin helped prepare him for throwing baseballs. He was good enough at the high jump and javelin that he had a chance to make the Olympic team. He decided baseball was his destiny and began playing…show more content…
During this time, Clemente also played in the Puerto Rican League and was called “the est player in the league, except for Willie Mays,” who also played on the team. In 1954, Clemente was in a car accident that damaged some of his spinal discs. The injury hampered the rest of his baseball career. He began spring training with Pittsburgh in 1955, but only made the team when the Pirates best outfielder ,Frank Thomas, held out for more money, then became ill. Clemente's original number was 13, but he shortly changed it to 21. Reports say he chose 21 because his name, Roberto Clemente Walker, has 21 letters in it. He played well in the beginning of the season until he hurt his finger and ran into a wall and had to miss a few

More about Roberto Clemente Research Paper

Open Document